What Really Happens When You Die?

What Really Happens When You Die?

Overwhelmingly, people who’ve had so-called near-death symptoms report a calmness, lack of fear, and feeling of being one with the universe. A relatively simple explanation of the near-death experience requires little scientific reasoning and absolutely no measurable evidence. If someone is on death’s door and then suddenly pulled back into the realm of the living, perhaps he or she glimpsed into the moments prior to the soul leaving the body and joining the great cosmic consciousness beyond. This ghost-in-the-shell hypothesis, if you could call it that, is ubiquitous and seems to satisfy the imaginations of the public at large. In fact, 71% of Americans believe in the persistence of the soul after death.

It’s interesting to note that the vast majority of near-death survivors never actually report having a near-death experience. And in one study, around half of the people who reported one were not actually in danger of dying. What’s clear is that when the brain undergoes severe trauma, like reduced oxygen flow, blood pressure drops, or sharp increases in blood carbon dioxide levels, interesting things start to happen psychologically.